New Character - What Class?

I haven't played since December and I was hoping to make a new character. My current character has a max level Arcanist, Marauder, Pugilist and Thaumaturge. I wasn't sure what class to start over on. I wont have any friends so I'll likely play solo for a while until I make some. I do want to play thief when it comes out but I do not know how long that will be. I am kind of worried about the long queue times for DPS, I'm wondering how bad they are leveling up. I really do not want to play tank again.

How wanted are Bards? How well do bards solo?
What's the queue time like for DPS?
Would I benefit from having a Dex geared character for Ninja?
Is Monk still top of the DPS charts?
What is the most wanted to least wanted class order?

What little tidbits do you have for each class for a new character?

Leveling actually got a lot easier and better than before. You no longer have to grind fates to level up. Dungeons, duty roulette and challenge logs help you level up quicker. They also help you learn the class properly. Compared to FATE zerging anyway. So spamming dungeons is highly recommended (they started giving a lot more exp)

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

How wanted are Bards? How well do bards solo?

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Any class can solo, really. If anything, I believe a summoner is a better soloist simply for the fact they got a pocket tank (titan-egi) at their disposal. Bards can kite forever if done properly, though

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

What's the queue time like for DPS?

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This depends on the datacenter you're on. So I can't really say.

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

Would I benefit from having a Dex geared character for Ninja?

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There's no dexterity stat ingame right now, so no. But even if there was, points distributed on other classes has no impact on your other classes.

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

Is Monk still top of the DPS charts?

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In the perfect scenario, yes. Perfect scenario would be that they never lose their stacks and never have to leave the target's side. But practically, I think black mage and bard tops off in most scenario's.

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

What is the most wanted to least wanted class order?

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This depends on the server you're on. So hard to tell. If anything, bard is a solid pick. Simply because they deal reliable damage and are required for pretty much every endgame duty. There might be a lot of competition in this field, however.

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Originally Posted by FCrowles

What little tidbits do you have for each class for a new character?

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I don't quite understand this question. Tidbits for each class for a new character? Do you mean items like "Helm of Light"?

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Originally Posted by Lyrica_Ashtine

There's no dexterity stat ingame right now, so no. But even if there was, points distributed on other classes has no impact on your other classes.


In the perfect scenario, yes. Perfect scenario would be that they never lose their stacks and never have to leave the target's side. But practically, I think black mage and bard tops off in most scenario's.

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Wrong and wrong. ARC/BRD uses DEX as main stat. And BRD is lowest on DPS on pretty much any content, with the exception of initial burst damage. High mobility and the occasional song is what keeps them sought after for any content.
I have a i98 BRD and i96 DRG and have found it safer and easier to solo powerful mobs on DRG. And with BRD my main I'm way more comfortable playing that than my DRG.

Edit: Ranged DPS have significally longer queue times than Melee DPS.

BRD is great for enemies (and especially groups of enemies) that have AOE attacks. So if I'm going to do kobold beast dailies, I will usually use my BRD for its ability to get out of AOEs while still being able to attack. On the other hand, I like my WAR much better for soloing NM fates and my MNK better for things like treasure maps.

Summoner is king of solo content for being able to form an instant party of three (yourself, Egi, and Chocobo), and if your Chocobo is specced for healing you can form the trinity by yourself (DPS, Tank, Healer). They also have amazing single target and multi-target damage. Oh, and you can raise other players during battle (relevant for the harder FATES).

MRD and BRD are probably second best for soloing. MRD can output a lot of damage and take a lot of hits. BRD can kite and burst down enemies in seconds.

BRD and BLM actually have the lowest DPS (although with the recent BLM buff I think it's unclear where they fall now). I think it's usually something like MNK > DRG >= SMN > BLM > BRD

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Originally Posted by givemeraptors

BRD and BLM actually have the lowest DPS (although with the recent BLM buff I think it's unclear where they fall now). I think it's usually something like MNK > DRG >= SMN > BLM > BRD

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It should be Mnk >= Smn > Blm (not far behind in good scenarios) >= Drg > Brd

I love playing Bard but there are so many in the game. It seems every raid Que ends up with 3 in the party. lol

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Originally Posted by NintenPyjak64

It should be Mnk >= Smn > Blm (not far behind in good scenarios) >= Drg > Brd

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BLM can outdo DRG now? Woah.

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Originally Posted by givemeraptors

BLM can outdo DRG now? Woah.

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With the new buff i seen them out doing some MNK in turn 8 but fight where you have to move monk may win.